Religious Trauma Syndrome: How Some Organized Religion Leads to Mental Health Problems

Religious Trauma Syndrome

I've never heard that term before. It's exceptionally accurate! I know more than a few people who have worked themselves up to such a frenzy religion-wise that their brains are malfunctioning. Seriously.

I'm going to borrow this term - Religious Trauma Syndrome - in the future.

I just found this while reading Qur'an.
About priests, rabbis, imams etc who are taken as lords(leaders blindly)

[9:31] They take their rabbis and their monks for their lords apart from Allah, and also the Messiah, son of Mary, whereas they were commanded to worship none but the One True God. There is no god but He. Exalted be He above those whom they associate with Him in His Divinity.
[9:32] They seek to extinguish the light of Allah by blowing through their mouths; but Allah refuses everything except that He will perfect His light howsoever the unbelievers might abhor it.
[9:33] He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the True Religion that He may make it prevail over all religions, howsoever those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity might detest it.
[9:34] Believers! Many of the rabbis and monks wrongfully devour mankind's possessions and hinder people from the Way of Allah. And there are those who amass gold and
silver and do not spend it in the Way of Allah. Announce to them the tidings of a painful chastisement
[9:35] on a Day when they shall be heated up in the Fire of Hell, and their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it, (and they shall be told): "This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourselves. Taste, then, the punishment for what you have hoarded."

Interesting read, I think it can said of most organisations. I suppose the more close nit and the more involved one it the worse it will be to break away. Anyone who willing accepts a religion and signs up be it through baptism or whatever cant really complain if they then walk away.

Of course Children brought up in a religion who decide it not for them before they make any committed steps shouldn't really be judged badly, we all have free will and it is not mans place to judge.

I have also seen this work the otherway. I have seen a Atheists take up religion only to be belittled and bullied by there family and friends causing depression and problems.

Don't know if you can win. Only prevent mental abuse and pressure of children and pick up the messes left behind.

reply to post by wildtimes


Well I did not read most of the links but I just finished reading the posts on this thread and I gotta say nice one wild, keep exercising that 1st amendment right! The fact that you are pissing people off means its making a difference on at least some kind of level.


Anyways, after reading it seems that this article would definately be a good contribution.

www.realclearscience.com...

It talks about how people that believe in an angry God are much more likely to be associated with mental illness.

Nahum 1:2-8 - 2 The LORD is a jealous and vengeful God; the LORD is vengeful and strong in wrath... 4 He can blast the sea and make it dry up; he can dry up all the rivers... 5 The mountains quake because of him; the hills melt away. The earth heaves before him-- the world and all who dwell in it. 6 Who can stand before his indignation? Who can confront the heat of his fury? His wrath pours out like fire; the rocks are shattered because of him... 8 With a rushing flood, he will utterly destroy her place and pursue his enemies into darkness.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Those seem to be the two versions of God people believe in. Personally, I would not want anything to do with the former one. I've dealt with enough authoritarian arses in my lifetime.

reply to post by Invariance


I think you are 100 percent correct Invariance. It amazes me how even the most diehard Bible fanatics do not even know the origins of Christianity and what was going on in the world at that time. For most people just the fact that it is "Gods word" and they have to "take it on faith" is all they need. I think the churches version of "You must have faith" is the same as saying "Do not ask any questions."

Most people seem to think that Rome fell overnight with the Vandals and barbarian hordes sacking Rome. In reality the Empire had been steadily going downhill for a few centuries and was quickly going broke financing its armies. So why not institute a mandatory monotheistic religion that preached about vows of chastity and poverty and "You will get your reward after you are dead" type of thinking. Much much cheaper than the bread and circus' the people were used to.

reply to post by Cancerwarrior

I'm so glad you linked that article!
I'm going to take the liberty of posting the title of it and a bit of extext from it. Belief in Angry God Associated with Poor Mental Health

Analyzing a Gallup survey conducted in 2010, the researchers sought to determine how one's perception of God -- as punitive, benevolent, or indifferent -- was associated with five different psychiatric symptoms: general anxiety, social anxiety, paranoia, obsession, and compulsion.

Respondents' characterizations of God were gleaned from their opinions of how six adjectives -- absolute, critical, just, punishing, severe, or wrathful -- applied to God. A numbering system was used to gauge the degree to which the subject viewed the adjective as an accurate descriptor of God (very well = 4; somewhat well = 3, not very well = 2, etc.). In a similar fashion, respondents answered queries designed to measure the five aforementioned psychiatric symptoms.

The researchers found that belief in a punitive God was significantly associated with:
an increase in social anxiety,
paranoia,
obsession, and
compulsion.

Conversely, belief in a benevolent God was associated with reductions in those four symptoms. Belief in an indifferent God was not linked to any symptoms.

(edited formatting for ease of reading is mine)

And It goes on from there. I want readers to notice that last bit, though:

belief in a LOVING GOD reduces those four symptoms,

and belief in an INDIFFERENT GOD was not linked to ANY symptoms.

So does this mean that God-fearing individuals are more anxious because of their beliefs, or that individuals who believe in a loving God have less to worry about? Possibly both, say the researchers.

Obviously this research, scientifically analyzed, is a point in favor of the topic of the thread.

See, readers? We Progressives and others who denounce the Evangelical Theocratic Agenda are not just blind haters vilifying Christianity. We want the damaging brainwashing and fear to be STOPPED. It's making people neurotic if not downright insane.

- Excellent find!

reply to post by windword


Wow, those videos you linked were awful.

The first one, i am not sure which is worse. The fact that there is a little kid who can't be more than 4 or 5 singing a song called, "Ain't no Homos Gonna Make it to Heaven," or the fact that there was an entire audience of churchgoers that stood up and cheered for him singing it.

The second video reminded me of the God warrior lady.

www.youtube.com...

And what the hell was with the tape bring put over the kids mouths?

Yesterday, I met and spoke with the producer of this video.
We must not remain complacent or silent about this.

I have much, much more information now about this "Punitive-God" movement. And I will be sharing it here.

reply to post by wildtimes


I watched the video yesterday just didnt knew how to respond. It obviously is a video made by a critical opinion.
I want to ask you what exactly are your intention to post it, you are not an atheist that i know.
How you plan to protect babies/kids from that kind of programming?

reply to post by logical7


By exposing what that kind of indoctrination does to injure a child's mind. It is akin to an infection, and right now I am reading a book about how psychological infections thrive like viruses on their 'hosts'.

The younger the child and the more often repeated the lesson, the harder it becomes for that child to; a) hear other perspectives; b)see the flaws in their own perspectives; and c) engage in critical thinking. It actually, literally CRIPPLES critical-thinking skills, if it doesn't DESTROY the ability altogether.

A person of average intelligence, or one who has this horrible message drilled into their brain from birth, can not think clearly without hard work and purging the infection entirely. It doesn't happen often. But, it DOES happen. As we can see right here on ATS via people like Klassified, windword, and so many others who have shared their horror stories and left the poisonous infection behind.

I am a person who was, from birth, indoctrinated as well. At about age 10 I started to really, really question the whole thing, and what I took away from what 'the church' was supposedly telling me - that I was loved and saved and forgiven - was just the opposite: That I was a sinner, not worthy to gather up the crumbs from under God's table, that I did things wrong and failed to do things right, and was hopelessly damned except for Christ's 'resurrection.'

I walked away. But I STILL have that deep-seated infection that nags at me - and I doubt it will ever go away.
Though my story was laughably mild compared to Nate Phelps, for example, the fact remains that childhood indoctrination CAN NOT be completely erased. Ever. It can only be methodically rejected and ignored as a person grows past its influence as "the truth."

reply to post by wildtimes


Well i appreciate your concern a lot but how you think it can be prevented? I do agree that spreading information is the best that can be done now.
I also agree that the education given in early age sticks deeply and so there is a need to give a proper education but what is that proper education and who will decide that?

reply to post by logical7

A proper education teaches all sides of an issue, presents the evidence or lack of evidence for all the angles, and encourages the child to THINK about things, and then come to a conclusion.

It's simple. If one is going to learn about religion, it should be about ALL religions, equally. Not "this one is correct and all the others are wrong." No. NO ONE can prove ANY of them are 'correct.' It is entirely subjective.

reply to post by wildtimes


I agree to that completely, but i can tell you and maybe you as a mother can understand it better that most parents have this strong need to 'pass down' 'their' 'values'/'faith'!
Most do it even without examining if they are really 'values'
very few actually raise kids as they should be and its a sensitive matter because they do it with genuine concern and love.

reply to post by logical7


Correct. You are absolutely correct, on every level with that post.


We need to encourage balanced education and a re-examination of one's "values" at regular intervals. That is what freethinkers do - sift through new data, old data, new ideas, old established ideas, and consistently reframe their worldview to reflect that updated information and the continued evaluation of old ideas.

So-called "facts" have a 'half-life' of their own - they become weak, suspect, challenged, and when sufficiently disproven, they are dead. We move forward in that way. There's a book out now about that very thing.

reply to post by wildtimes

There's a book out now about that very thing.

which book?

reply to post by logical7

The Half-Life of Facts

Facts change all the time. Smoking has gone from doctor-recommended to deadly. We used to think the Earth was the center of the universe and that Pluto was a planet. For decades, we were convinced that the Brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. In short, what we know about the world is constantly changing.

But it turns out there’s an order to the state of knowledge, an explanation for how we know what we know. Samuel Arbesman is an expert in the field of scientometrics—literally the science of science. Knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives.

The Half-Life of Facts is a riveting journey into the counterintuitive fabric of knowledge. It can help us find new ways to measure the world while accepting the limits of how much we can know with certainty.

He's a "Science Scientist" - I suppose he could be called a Scientologist if the term wasn't already taken by the weirdos that run that nutty religion! So they call what he does "scientometrics".

You can download the entire first chapter at this link. He's been interviewed radio programs, and other media has reported on his work as well.

Kirkus Reviews said this:

In his debut, Arbesman…advises us not to worry: While we can’t stop facts from changing, we can recognize that what we know “changes in understandable and systematic ways.”…

reply to post by wildtimes


There was no Brontosaurus? *Reads the history of the confusion surrounding this.* My god (no pun intended) you're right! Now even Transformers has lied to me in my youth. The dinobot brontosaurus Sludge was never a real thing! Will this endless stream of disillusionment brought about by ATSers' commitment to denying ignorance never end?

That joke aside, I've continued to read this thread as it develops and I really do think what you're arguing has merit and it's very concerning.

Peace.

reply to post by AceWombat04


Thanks for letting me know that.
Sometimes it feels very lonely and I get demoralized. But, then I bounce back and think, "NO! I won't shut up!"

Originally posted by logical7
I just found this while reading Qur'an.
About priests, rabbis, imams etc who are taken as lords(leaders blindly)

[9:31] They take their rabbis and their monks for their lords apart from Allah, and also the Messiah, son of Mary, whereas they were commanded to worship none but the One True God. There is no god but He. Exalted be He above those whom they associate with Him in His Divinity.
[9:32] They seek to extinguish the light of Allah by blowing through their mouths; but Allah refuses everything except that He will perfect His light howsoever the unbelievers might abhor it.
[9:33] He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the True Religion that He may make it prevail over all religions, howsoever those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity might detest it.
[9:34] Believers! Many of the rabbis and monks wrongfully devour mankind's possessions and hinder people from the Way of Allah. And there are those who amass gold and
silver and do not spend it in the Way of Allah. Announce to them the tidings of a painful chastisement
[9:35] on a Day when they shall be heated up in the Fire of Hell, and their foreheads and their sides and their backs shall be branded with it, (and they shall be told): "This is the treasure which you hoarded for yourselves. Taste, then, the punishment for what you have hoarded."

I've never been any good at that chapter and verse stuff, but I DID pay attention (back when I still went to church). Maybe someone else can give the correct passage, I'll just have to paraphrase... Somewhere in the Bible there is the admonishment to "beware the priests who pray the prayers that save no one".

Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by logical7

 

The Half-Life of Facts

Facts change all the time. Smoking has gone from doctor-recommended to deadly. We used to think the Earth was the center of the universe and that Pluto was a planet. For decades, we were convinced that the Brontosaurus was a real dinosaur. In short, what we know about the world is constantly changing.

But it turns out there’s an order to the state of knowledge, an explanation for how we know what we know. Samuel Arbesman is an expert in the field of scientometrics—literally the science of science. Knowledge in most fields evolves systematically and predictably, and this evolution unfolds in a fascinating way that can have a powerful impact on our lives.

The Half-Life of Facts is a riveting journey into the counterintuitive fabric of knowledge. It can help us find new ways to measure the world while accepting the limits of how much we can know with certainty.

He's a "Science Scientist" - I suppose he could be called a Scientologist if the term wasn't already taken by the weirdos that run that nutty religion!

So they call what he does "scientometrics".

You can download the entire first chapter at this link. He's been interviewed radio programs, and other media has reported on his work as well.

Kirkus Reviews said this:

In his debut, Arbesman…advises us not to worry: While we can’t stop facts from changing, we can recognize that what we know “changes in understandable and systematic ways.”…

"Motions and changes are continually renewing the world, just as the uninterrupted course of time is always renewing the infinite duration of ages. In this flowing stream then, on which there is no abiding, what is there of the things which hurry by on which a man would set a high price?

It would be just as if a man should fall in love with one of the sparrows which fly by, but it has already passed out of sight." - Marcus Aurelius April 26, 121 AD – March 17, 180 AD.

So even that far back it was possible to understand that the only constant is change.

I'm not sure which book it was in that I read recently, but I liked the remark about the impossibility of the same man crossing a river twice. By the time he has reached the other shore, the river has moved on and he is no longer the same man...